Managers View – Eamon Gillan, Cushendall

By Brendan McTaggart

“Expected nothing less.  It turned out we had a bit to spare in the end but they kept chipping and chipping.  The goal was huge for us and we pushed on from there.  It was a tough game but we looked in command for a lot of it.”  The immediate reaction from Cushendall manager Eamon Gillan to his sides three point win over Loughgiel on Sunday afternoon.

After a decent start by the Ruairi’s, Loughgiel looked to edging the game until Paddy Burke landed the first goal.  Gillan told us the experience of the previous two final defeats helped them regain control while the momentum gathered from the two matches against St Johns proved pivotal: “The guys were really up for it.  They were bouncing before going out.  Maybe it was losing the last two, I don’t know.  Last year, a different opposition but they felt like they didn’t so themselves justice.  In the end, they lost the match, deservedly in the end but they used that for this year.

“I think the extra game against St Johns didn’t do us any harm.  It was tough, tough matches.  You know, people haven’t given St Johns the credit they deserve but it played into our hands.  They were tough games, we got over the line, albeit just but it definitely stood to us.”

In a gritty hour of hurling when scores and space were scarce, Gillan singled out two individuals when adding: “Natty was superb in the first half.  Knocked over two or three great scores at a time when a point was a big score.

“Eoghan Campbell was outstanding for a man who is carrying a broken bone.  We got a special cover for it but he played through the pain threshold.  The only time he was in pain was when he actually hit the ball.  The pain isn’t there when his arm’s in a natural position but he covered some ground.

“He’s a great hurler.  The perfect sweeper.  I know they pushed up on him in the second half and we lost our momentum for maybe a ten minute period but we were expecting them to do it earlier than that.”

The Cushendall manager reserved praise for his native club when he concluded: “Loughgiel aren’t a bad side.  They’re a good side but they just lost that wee bit of momentum today and lost a bit of composure but let me tell you something, they’re still a good outfit and to be respected.”

“They won’t be far away again next year.  I think the championship will be something similar next year which is only good for Antrim hurling but therein lays the problem.  How can you get this transferred into the county set up?”  The conundrum that has faced the Antrim hurling management teams for the better part of 30 years but for now Gillan was a happy man leaving Páirc MacUílin having finally tasted success as a manager on senior final day after two previous defeats in the decider.

Managers View

Johnny Campbell, Loughgiel

By Brendan McTaggart

Stood waiting in the Ballycastle changing rooms for what felt like an eternity, the Shamrock players made their way out to face the reality of it all after Sunday’s final.  The realisation of defeat in a championship final just gets worse with every passing hour and the Loughgiel men were suffering.  Every one of them looked pained.  The type of pain that only comes from a defeat in the final to your fiercest rivals.

Loughgiel manager Johnny Campbell was one of the last to leave the changing rooms.  You could tell he couldn’t see us far enough but faced up to the waiting media.  The pain of a final loss etched over his face yet the Shamrocks manager was magnanimous in defeat: “There’s no question about it, the better team won.  Most of the game was played on Cushendall’s terms and we couldn’t get our players into the game and that makes the difference on big days.”  Campbell continued: “Whether that was down to us or how they went about their work, I’m not sure but we didn’t win too many individual battles all over the pitch for us to get anything going.”

The Shamrocks made a promising start to Sunday’s final, twice opening a two point lead at 0-4 0-2 and 0-7 0-5 before Cushendall landed the first major blow of the match and scored the opening goal.  Campbell acknowledged the significance of Paddy Burke’s goal, adding: “It was always going to be nip and tuck but goals win games is the cliché and it proved to be the case.

“We lost individual battles around the middle third and they capitalised and supported each other better than we did and it’s something that we set out to do but they were better than us.”

It was a double whammy for the Shamrocks, their minors losing out in a titanic battle with Dunloy in the curtain raiser while suffering their first defeat in the decider since 2008, the last of the six finals lost in succession.  Once they get to the decider, they have an inner belief and knowhow of the big occasion that drives them to getting the job done but on Sunday they came up short.  Campbell told us that the Shamrocks will be back for another tilt in 2019 while keeping an eye on the talent coming through the ranks at Fr Healy Park: “Hopefully but I’m sure Dunloy will have something to say about that too.  It was a good championship this year, unfortunately it wasn’t the right result for us.

“St Johns have entered the fray now as well and I hope that once the boys have a rest they’ll be back out and at it next year again with hopefully a couple added out of the minor panel into the mix too.

“Loughgiel will be about for the next few years and will be competitive but time will tell.”

By Brendan McTaggart

Donal ‘Natty’ McNaughton is one of the most under-rated stars of the Ruairi Og’s.  It was his introduction in the first match against St Johns that helped to turn the tide for Cushendall while starring in the replay.  On Sunday he put in another gargantuan performance.

The relief, joy and ecstasy was clearly visible as the 33 year old stood for photographs with his three children holding the Volunteer Cup.  The Ruairi Og forward gave us his initial thoughts on his side reclaiming the Antrim championship on Sunday: “I thought the whistle would never blow.

“We got a good start but we seemed to hit a lull.  In the end up it was tit for tat to get over the line.

“It was another gritty and determined performance.”

The easiest commodity carried in sport is momentum.  Once a team have it, they become hard to stop.  When a team like Cushendall have that, you get an end result like Sunday.  Natty gave us his thoughts: “We got on a good roll from the St John’s games and the momentum kept going.  We never say die and we kept fighting.  There was no big scores out there today, it was a battling performance.

“That’s what you look for.  Big heavy challenging matches, it keeps you going.  It keeps the momentum going and I know they got a break and Loughgiel said they were happy with the extra week but I wouldn’t look at it that way.  I’d rather play through the niggle with the momentum.  Winning gets rid of niggles better than any week off.”

Natty was too hot for the Loughgiel defence to handle in the opening half on Sunday, scoring three points from three shots in the opening 30 minutes while in the second half he put in another monumental performance, covering every inch of the Páirc MacUílín pitch tackling, chasing, harassing and doing whatever it took to get his team over the line.  Natty added: “I had it in my head before the game but the main one was composure.  If I did get the chance I had to be sure, be clinical.  I think I had three shots and three scores, I had to make sure any of the chances I got I stuck them over.”

The swing in momentum from Cushendall’s first goal was game defining.  It gave the Ruairi’s the lead for the first time in the final at a time when Loughgiel were starting to find their rhythm.  Natty agreed that their first major came at an opportune time, although from the most unlikely of sources as he joked wondering why his captain was 80 yards out of position: “We said the same thing in the St Johns game.  He went into block a ball to get a goal but we’ll not hear the end of this from Paddy Burke now.”

Cushendall now prepare for an Ulster final meeting with Down champions Ballycran.  Natty commented on the ‘Cran’s result over Slaughtneil when adding: “That’s a big, big result for Ballycran and fair play to them but we weren’t looking any further than this match today.  We literally take one game at a time.  We looked at Loughgiel, we won today and we’ll celebrate but we’ll regroup and come back to get a look at Ballycran.”

McNaughton had been contemplating retirement at the end of last season and refused to comment if he would be around the Ruairi’s squad to add to his healthy collection of six Antrim championships: “I don’t know, that’s up for debate but I’ll enjoy this one for now.”